These micro inverters are a cool near-term portable solution for those looking to dip their toes into home energy storage. Ultimately, I hope we see residential DC electrical become more commonplace soon. That will make the grid integration that this tackles a non-issue for most (i.e. those who aren’t selling their excess solar capacity) but will ultimately be simpler and more efficient for the grid as a whole.
The average home has only a few devices left that still use AC internally (mostly large or old appliances) and home storage systems lose energy to power conversion overhead in both directions at multiple stages. Since each conversion represents a loss of up to 20%, the AC standard introduces an increasing amount of unnecessary friction close to the point of delivery.
Illustration: if your home charges from the grid, that’s one conversion AC —> DC. If you then use that power to charge an electric vehicle, that’s two additional conversions AC —> DC —> AC —> DC (currently few EVs support DC charging unfortunately). If you then charge your laptop in the car using the official charger, that’s two more conversions AC —> DC —> AC —> DC —> AC —> DC. Altogether this requires about 3x as much power than necessary with residential DC electrical, since then the power can go from solar to storage to car to laptop without the need for power inverters.
Well it’s not standardized yet to my knowledge, but for example if we used something like the USB-PD protocol it could be a baseline 5 volts, with device negotiated step up to 9, 12, 15, 24, 28, 36, and 48. Higher voltage isn’t out of the question; EV systems safely run closer to 400 and a number of home batteries range up to 600, but I’d be iffy on the idea of the average contractor putting that voltage in the walls of the average home.
It’s true the copper for longer, higher current, or lower voltage DC runs could get very expensive, but even without HV for distance, thoughtful distribution of storage to expected points of delivery would limit the number of heavy lines needed for current spikes.
Long short, I’m not talking about switching entirely from AC, or pumping DC power through existing residential circuits. I’m talking about adding a secondary system that’s a more integrated version of the ubiquitous portable power station / “solar generator” batteries. It would be a home modernization upgrade, similar to running Ethernet to PoE enabled jacks in each room, installing a fancy intercom system, or what have you.
PaperIf I understand correctly, it relates to light’s behavior as both a particle and a wave. Photons can “shave” molecules off the surface of water, creating vapor.
The effect apparently peaks around 520 nm (the visible color cyan, which has lower thermal absorption) and at an angle of 45 deg. Would these results suggest it’s actually possible to induce evaporative cooling with the careful application of light?
With self-install solar panels, and a €150 plug-in adapter that feeds power directly into electricity sockets; a DIY home power system is becoming popular in Europe. (www.theverge.com)
MIT researchers discover "photomolecular effect": light alone can evaporate water without heat, a previously unknown physics phenomenon that could enable new technologies (news.mit.edu)